The shogunate's "trial decree" stripped most of the affairs of Mr. Tanan and Oguri Tadami, and Oguri was very dissatisfied with this, and Mr. Tanan admonished him in a secret conversation, and took the opportunity to ask Okubo to send a message to Naohide.

"The gentleman hides his weapon and moves when the time comes, why is it disadvantageous?" This is Mr. Tan'an's original words, borrowed from "Zhou Yi? The famous sentence in "The Resignation of the Department" asks for Naohide's patience, and Mr. Tanan also promises that he will carry out the good words for the white lord.

A total of three people participated in this conversation, and in order of status, they were Egawa, who was also the acting official of Nirayama, the Kanjo Ginmi, and the three of Haiphong, Mimefu Oguri Tadashun, and Hakulord-cho Okubo Riji, but the interesting thing is that the level of the highest positions of the three in the future was completely reversed, which is really unpredictable.

But at this time, Okubo was still an insignificant figure in the shogunate, and he didn't even have the official status of a shogunate, but was just a private minister of the Hori family, so he was a little excited to participate in secret talks at this level, and he was not flattered, but it was almost there.

Therefore, Okubo racked his brains to help the two important ministers, as the head of the white lord Wenchen, he knew Naohide's northern land planning well, so he soon came up with a plan:

"Jiushan iron-making can focus on steelmaking in the future."

According to Okubo's idea, he didn't know anything about the high-level adjustment of the shogunate, so it was best not to talk nonsense, but he was still relatively confident in internal affairs, and Naohide deliberately mentioned the difference between steel and iron in order to build an ironworks in Kitachi, and he felt that this was a good idea.

It is made of steel, and Fuso has always called a certain excellent material for forging knives Yugang, so Mr. Tanan became interested when he heard it, and asked Okubo to talk about it carefully.

The carbon content standard of steel and iron has not yet been established at this time, and the reverberatory furnace technology at this time is still very primitive, there is no gas and natural gas, which are fuels with high combustion value, and the process is relatively simple, so it is difficult to train steel directly by relying on the reverberatory furnace, but in order to stimulate morale, the soldier who does not want to be a marshal is not a good soldier, so at that time he said that he would make iron first and then steel, and he blew a bubble to everyone.

The white lord has not had any serious orchid science industry so far, so Okubo doesn't have a clear concept of industry, and he actually believed Naohide's words, and solemnly conveyed it to Mr. Tanan and Oguri Tadashun.

The first appearance of the gas company was in England in 1812, and it quickly spread to Western countries, and Mr. Tanan knew something about it. But he really didn't think about using gas to make steel - Fusang's current Lanxue is to follow the trend of the world, and many places are afraid of omission and innovation, and they dare not borrow two dares.

So after listening to Okubo's explanation, Mr. Tanan will be skeptical, the truth is this, but I haven't heard of any Westerners doing it, and Naohide hasn't mentioned it, can this work?

Naoxiu didn't mention it at the time, because he felt that the steps shouldn't be too big so as not to get involved - Mr. Tan'an is a character who sits on his words and deeds, and sometimes he is more aggressive, Naoxiu is afraid that Mr. will rush too fiercely~ Bump his head, so he deliberately didn't say it.

But as soon as the secret was neglected, Naohide told him before Okubo's departure that he couldn't say that he couldn't talk about it, focusing on the two things of fighting with Lucia and the secret trade with rice ships, but he forgot about it, and the white lord had too many secrets, so he lost his footing this time - Okubo told Mr. Tanan about the steelmaking.

Fortunately, Naoxiu has been in the north for the past two years, and Mr. Tanan thinks that Naoxiu can't really come up with any steel-making method when he is fishing and touching shrimp, at most it is just an idea, so he doesn't really believe it, but this matter is firmly remembered by him.

In addition, there is another reason why Mr. Tanan did not have the courage to try, that is, what is the steelmaking for?

The current large cylinders are made of bronze or cast iron, so the steel is used to cast knives? But the iron cannon is getting farther and farther, what is the future of the casting knife, and it is used to sell it to Westerners? After all, Mr. Tanan was not deeply involved in the trade between Fuso and Languo, and he only knew that Fuso knives could be sold overseas, but he didn't know how much this share was. Later, the white lord really sold it

Quite a lot of Fuso knives went overseas, which can be regarded as a small fortune.

Although Okubo's proposal was unreliable, it was also a heart, and Mr. Tanan was very pleased, so he specially asked Okubo to attend more gatherings of celebrities and gentlemen in Edo, in addition to learning about the latest trends, but also to accumulate some contacts for Naohide and himself, so as to prepare for the future.

At this time, Mr. Tanan had already moved his mind to transfer Naohide back to Edo, but the shogunate had a rule that in order to let the acting officials better understand the territory and develop the economy, ordinary acting officials were only allowed to transfer after serving in one place for ten years, so it was quite difficult for Naohide to transfer from the white lord, so Mr. Tanan did not say it explicitly.

Okubo was very grateful when he heard this, this is because Mr. Tanan said that he was allowed to participate in the party as a disciple of Egawa, which was invisibly too high his own status - the water was too deep in the Edo dragon and snake mixture, and as a retainer of an ordinary banner, many people did not even pinch him with their eyelids, let alone invite him to any party.

Seeing that Mr. Tanan and Oguri seem to have confidential things to discuss, Okubo hurriedly retired - today's harvest is good, content and happy, and now he is qualified to go further, and he will not say goodbye and wait for the New Year.

It is also true that a few days later, someone really came to visit Okubo and invited him to participate in the Baume & Mercier party, and this person was still an old acquaintance of Naohide.

This person is a genius art of war of the Maori family in Changzhou, the Miao word Yoshida, and the name is square.

Yoshida Jufang is an old acquaintance of Naohide, and the two met when Naohide first traveled to study in the fourteenth year of Tenpo (1843), and the two have not met since then, but Naohide has been carrying various orchid books to Yoshida before going to sea, and Yoshida also expressed his gratitude by leaving a letter to Shiraishi Shoichiro, a wealthy merchant in Shimonoseki, which can be regarded as a friend of Naohide.

Yoshida was four years younger than Naohide, so he didn't start his study tour until he was twenty-one years old in the third year of Kaei (1850), when he first traveled to Kyushu, and although Naohide was also in Kyushu at that time to prepare for his trip to Hakuju, the two had different schedules and eventually did not meet.

Although Okubo and Yoshida have never met, they both know each other through Naohide, so Yoshida's visit is not abrupt - according to Fuso tradition, if you don't know each other, you need an agent who is familiar with both sides to introduce you.

After the two met, Yoshida first greeted Naohide and the Okubo family about their physical condition, and then invited Yoshida to participate in a celebrity party.

Yoshida is as well-known as Okubo, so Okubo is curious about what kind of celebrity gatherings he can participate in, whether it's a crooked melon and cracked jujube party or Yoshiwara's adventure, so it's better to figure it out.

According to Yoshida himself, he was also supported by his teacher Sakuma Kozan, so he was able to participate in this party, and as for inviting Okubo to participate, it was also arranged by the teacher.

Sakuma Zoyama was born in the Matsushiro clan and opened the Orchid Academy "Zoyama Shoin" in Edo. He was greatly appreciated by the old feudal lord Sanada Yukikan, who was commissioned to study coastal defense when he was the shogunate (1841-1844), and in the thirteenth year of Tenpo (1842), he proposed the famous "Eight Strategies for Coastal Defense", which included the opinion that "the key to coastal defense lies in guns and ships, and artillery is the most important."

Sakuma once learned from Tan'an students about iron cannons and other orchids, and he also appeared as a guest secretary during the establishment of the Nirayama Iron Works, so he was not an outsider.

Mr. Tanan once praised Okubo in front of people as "a rookie in Orchid studies, and he is very smart", so Okubo is not a nobody in the circle of Orchid scholars, and Mr. Egawa was going to personally introduce Okubo to Orchid scholars, but he couldn't take care of the turmoil of the Wind Storytelling Evaluation Meeting, and now that the "trial decree" has come out, it is too late for Mr. Tanan to avoid suspicion, so he gave the task of "bringing Okubo into the circle of celebrities" to Sakuma.

Since he was not an outsider, Okubo naturally gladly accepted the invitation to the party, saying that he would attend the meeting on time.

On the fifteenth day of the fifth year of the month of Kaei, Okubo followed Sakuma Zoyama to attend a gathering among Edo celebrities, which was Okubo

Once involved in the circle of celebrities, he was a little nervous, not knowing who he would meet and what topics he would talk about.

The party was held in a private residence hosted by Yasui Xixuan, a well-known Confucian scholar and professor of official learning Changhei.

It was the first time Okubo had attended such a party, and he carefully imitated Sakuma's every move, lest he be slighted by others.

But it turned out that Okubo was too cautious, the host Yasui Xixuan was very hospitable, the guests were very easy-going, there were no maids and musicians on the scene, just set up some coffee tables and seats, there were wine, tea, fruits and snacks, everyone sat in twos and threes, the breeze was blowing, everyone chatted and played chess at will, leisurely and very comfortable.

In addition to Okubo Riji and Yoshida Kikata, there were Katsuyoshi Kuni and Miyabe Dingzo - Miyabe and Yoshida were good friends, and the two studied together in Edo.

Katsuyoshikuni seemed to be a regular visitor here, and he introduced several other guests to Okubo, while Sakuma had already taken a glass of wine and chatted with the host.

There were quite a few celebrities in attendance today, including Fujimori Hiroan, Shiotani Iwain, Yoshino Kinry, and others—all three of whom were well-known Confucian scholars.

After a while, Katsuyoshibang also found someone to chat, and only Okubo, Yoshida, and Miyabe were left in the corner, and these three people were taken by the names of the celebrities, so they had to whisper about the customs of their hometown, but in fact, they were all absent-minded, and pricked up their ears to eavesdrop on what the celebrities were saying.

Obviously I didn't want to attract the attention of others, but I was afraid of something, so it didn't take long for a young man named Ginjiro to invite the three of them to the middle of the house, saying that the owner wanted to introduce the three to everyone. Yasui Xixuan is a great Confucian who has been famous for a long time, and it is a good thing that he can personally introduce it to all famous artists, so the three of them hurriedly got up.

Yasui praised the three of them in front of everyone, saying that Okubo is a rising star of Ranxue, Yoshida is a descendant of the Yamaga Ryu Art of War, and Miyabe is also a Kyushu talent who is familiar with Chinese studies.

With the host warming up, the newcomer was humble, seeing that this time he had successfully passed the test, but he didn't expect a different peak to protrude, and someone next to him suddenly spoke, "Since he is a talent, and Rong Donghu will take the test." ”

Okubo and Yoshida are the same age, both are twenty-three, Miyabe is older, thirty-two, but the room is full of elderly celebrities, and he looks like he is about to know the destiny of heaven, and he sits next to his master, with a good bearing, obviously a high status, so the test is better, but if he replies well, he will inevitably become famous one day, and if he answers correctly, his reputation will be discredited, so the three of them are all solemn.

"In the eventful autumn, I admired the loyalty of Danan Gong, and tried to recite poetry to record it."

Okubo was stunned when he heard the title, who is Da Nangong, I haven't heard of it, so he peeped at the two friends around him, and the result was very disturbing.

First Yoshida spoke proudly:

"The big fish in the East China Sea struggled with their tails and kicked up the black wave and dirty clothes......

The north will worship the sky and the sun again, and destroy this thief in the world in seven lives.

The blue blood is 500 years old, and the vast spring grows wheat.

You don't see: the picture of the monarch and the minister, the flesh and blood swallow each other, what does the thirteenth Jiuye have.

How can a loyal minister and a filial son extract a door, a stone under the eternity, leaving countless tears of heroes. ”

Then Miyabe also chanted:

"Haidian is cloudy and windy, and the name of the history editor is Xin.

A warm blood is stored and drained, and it is divided with the son Cao sprinkled the thief's court. ”

When the two finished chanting the poem, Okubo was stunned! He wasn't amazed by the talent of the two friends - these two are the masterpieces of the poet Lai Shanyang, Yoshida and Miyabe only have good memories at most, and they can't talk about their talents, but Okubo heard the verses and remembered who the "Great Nangong" was, so he was shocked, and in front of the public, someone openly asked for a poem to commemorate the "Great Nangong", didn't this want to openly rebel?